Replace or Repair Furnace in Future Rental

[Dori Rutledge]

Hello everyone!  We are in the middle of our first rental purchase and the home inspection negotiation has begun.  The sellers have offered to replace the furnace in three units and replace window panes OR repair the furnaces, replace the window panes, and recover the roof.  Since we live in a climate where it can get cold, the furnace is important.

The roof shingles have a 24 year life span which is up next year.

Thanks for your input!

[Kyle Hipp]

I would want the repairs done to my specifications so I would probably push for a credit as closing escrow ed for specific repairs. Replacing 3 natural gas forced air  furnaces with energy efficient units should be around $5,500. I would not waste money on replacing window panes. I would replace single pane windows with energy efficient double pane windows for around $250/piece installed. It doesn't sound like the roof is failing just at that material is at the end of its rated life. They could last perfectly for another 20 years. The way you stated sounds like they would just throw down another layer of shingles which I would also not do. Rip down to original sheathing and do it right with architecture shingles...